The epic journey of Holland’s beloved poet ends in Fort Worth

Christmas Eve, 2013: I stopped by the Trinity Terrace retirement community in early afternoon to visit Leo Vroman and his wife, Tineke. They sat as they always did, beside each other on the sofa of their small apartment, holding hands, surrounded by their books and by Leo’s sketches and paintings, many of them of her. We chatted quietly about the year that was ending and the one to come.

“This is probably my last year,” Leo said.
“I hope you’re wrong,” I said.
“I probably have considerably less time than that,” he said.